The Grace of God

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Romans 3:23-24
tells us, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus." We have all sinned. We all deserve to be punished
throughout all eternity for our sins, but Christ Jesus has already taken
our punishment. God, by his grace, that is His unmerited favor toward us,
can now be just in saving us, through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. Our redemption is in Christ Jesus, and not in ourselves.

In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, "For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast." We are saved by the unmerited favor
of God through our obedient faith. There is no way that anyone could ever
be good enough to go to heaven, because we have all sinned. We all deserve
to be punished eternally. There is no way that anyone could ever earn his
way to heaven, because heaven will be a gift of God for those who go
there.

Our Lord says in Luke 17:10, "So likewise you, when you have
done all those things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable
servants. We have done what was our duty to do." We cannot do
enough to earn our salvation. We read in Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all
like an unclean thing, and all ourrighteousnesses are like
filthy rags." There is no one of us that deserves to be saved. It
is only by the grace of God that anyone will be saved.